Layering and slashing fabric to create innovative textures and color combinations has been known since the days of the Renaissance. This technique has been adopted to create textured clothing that resembles chenille fabric. The look and feel of this fabric can take on different characteristics, depending on the fabric patterns and colors used in the design, as well as the type of fabrics and the order in which the fabrics are layered.
One modern method that is known for creating a chenille-type fabric involves the following steps. Multiple layers of cloth are stacked on top of each other. For instance, six different layers can be used, and these may be a combination of solid colors and prints, and may even be of different fibers (for example, cotton and rayon). In this example, the cloth layers are formed from six-inch squares.
Next, a 45 degree angle is marked from corner to corner on the stack of layered cloth. The 45 degree line is then used as a guide for stitching through all layers of cloth along the line. After the row of stitching is complete, a second stitch is then sewn parallel to the first row of stitching, preferably spaced five-eighths of an inch (1.5 cm) apart to create a channel. Additional parallel rows are stitched on the fabric until the entire stack of layered cloth is stitched into parallel channels. Blunt-tipped scissors are then used to cut through the top layers between the stitching rows. The base layer of cloth is not cut. This results in several rows of parallel strips of fabric sewn to the base layer.
Finally, the cut stack of cloth is soaked with water and wrung out. The fabric is then rubbed and agitated as much as possible and dried. Depending on the order in which the cloth layers were stacked and the type of fabric chosen, the resulting material will vary from a soft, fluffy feel, to a subtle naturally-mottled pattern.
One disadvantage with the prior method is that it requires the use of scissors to cut through five layers of cloth without cutting through the sixth or bottom layer of cloth. Great effort may sometimes be required to use scissors to cut all the layers of fabric at one time. While each layer can separately be cut along each row, it would require passing the scissors along the row five times, or as many times as there are layers, in order to effectuate a cut down to the base layer. Separately cutting each layer would make it difficult to have each layer cut along the same line, resulting in unevenness in the dimensions. Hence, there is a need for a faster and easier method for cutting the upper layers of cloth without cutting the base layer.